Previously, were recognised researchers like Margarita Salas, Ginés Morata, Avelino Corma, Antonio García Bellido, Miguel Ángel Alario, Carlos López Otín and Carlos Martínez Alonso.

The Mexican Council for Science and Technology and the Mexican Council for Science have valued the contributions of Andrés Moya to the genetics, evolutionary biology and genomics, because he has made ‘fundamental contributions in a world level in fields of symbiosis, experimental evolution and virus epidemiology and human microbiome’, according the resolution of the award.

In allusion to the full university professor of the Universitat de València, Enrique Cabrero and Jorge Flores, president and vice-president, respectively, of the Award Council, have secured that he is ‘probably the most relevant evolutionary biologist  in his generation’. In Europe and in lots of countries from Latin America he is known as one of the most relevant researchers and intellectuals of his field’.

This award is given annually since 1990 to a person with a recognised professional prestigious who has contributed in a significant way to the universal scientist knowledge or to the technological advance, whose work has a great international impact and that has formed a school or significant human resources. The award is Latin American world, because it is allocated to Central and South America, to Caribe, Spain and Portugal.

The professor Moya, who manifests ‘a huge pride and responsibility’ for getting such an important honour, will get the  Mexico Award for Science and Technology 2015 during the fist trimester of 2016, from hands of the presidents of the Mexico Republic, Enrique Peña Nieto. During his stay will be programme various conferences in research centres.

The Council for Awards of this award is formed by the Mexican Council for Science and Technology, by the Mexican Consultative Council for Sciences and by titular people of the secretary’s office of Public Education and External Relations< and also for the presidents, general managers and principals of the Mexico School, the National Polytechnic Institute, the Research and Advanced Studies Centre (Cinvestav), the Mexican Sciences Academy, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). In this edition, the physics Arturo Menchaca led the work of the jury responsible of the verdict.

The full university professor Andrés Moya is author of around 500 publications between scientific articles, chapters and books about genetics, evolution and philosophy. His most important scientific contributions have been in genomics and bacteria metagenomics and microbiome communities fields, as well as un experimental evolution of virus. “He has also done a wide outreach and reflection task about science and has published several books about evolutionary theory and the reach of evolutionary thought. Nowadays, he focuses his research in symbiosis field, particularly in the study of the human and other organisms microbiome with an evolutionary perspective and system and synthetic biology.

The awarded with the Mexico Award 2015 works in the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and  Evolutionary Biology of the Universitat de València and in the Foundation for the Development of the Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Community (FISABIO) of the Valencian Government. Furthermore, he leads the Institutional Chair FISABIO of the Universitat de València. He is part of the CIBER for Epidemiology and Public Health, which depends on the Carlos III Health Institute. He is member of various scientific societies and founder of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, of the Spanish Society for Virology and of the Spanish Society for Evolutionary Biology, from which he is the president. 

Apart from this, Moya has got honours, like the award Ciutat de Barcelona de Investigación Científica (1996); the Fellow of the American Association for the Advance of Science (1998); the Diario Médico Award (2006); the Diplome of the president of the Valencian Government for the Excellence in Biomedical Research (2010); the National Award for Genetics (2012) of España; and the Lilly Award (2013) for Preclinical Biomedical Research.